


A Web of Coincidence

by AreYouReady



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Body Horror, Descent into Madness, F/M, Gore, Horror, Jealousy, Mirror Universe, Murder, Obsession, Psychological Horror, Stalking, Tragedy, lesbian subtext
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:01:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27268399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AreYouReady/pseuds/AreYouReady
Summary: Set sometime in season four, in an alternate universe where the DS9 crew haven't yet encountered the Mirror Universe, a version of Jennifer Sisko comes crashing through the wormhole.Kasidy Yates doesn't like it.
Relationships: Benjamin Sisko/Kasidy Yates, Benjamin Sisko/Mirror Jennifer Sisko, Kasidy Yates & Mirror Jennifer Sisko, Mirror Jennifer Sisko & Jake Sisko
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8
Collections: Star Trek Halloween Horror Bang 2020





	A Web of Coincidence

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings for some stalking and nonconsensual (accidental) voyeurism.
> 
> Thank you to my beta plain_and_simple_tailor (ectogeo) for proofing and cheerleading, thank you to gormaganders on tumblr for the lovely art, and thank you to Cy for leading this bang!!

“So,” said Ben, “you don’t think Shakaar is willing to accept that kind of aid?”

“I don’t know. I think it would be hard. Shakaar is used to running a terrorist cell, not a planet. He’s not used to having to think about interstellar economics,” said Major Kira. Ben grabbed his baseball, and began rolling it back and forth across his desk. He could understand why the Federation subsidizing Bajoran goods in trade with other species might feel overly controlling to Shakaar, but it would also help Bajor find its place in the Alpha quadrant, and forge diplomatic relations with other species. 

“What if-” Ben cut himself off as his office door slid open.

“Captain, I’m getting a strange reading from the wormhole.” Jadzia looked worried, but excited. Kira raised her eyebrows at him, flicking her gaze between him and Jadzia. Ben stood.

“What is it, Dax?”

“It’s like something is coming through, but there’s also a type of radiation we’ve never picked up from the wormhole before. I don’t have a theory yet on where it’s coming from, but it seems to almost be _refracting_ the wormhole, redirecting it somehow. Temporarily, I think, but it’s happening.”

“I see.” Ben walked around his desk, and Jadzia led him to her station. The wormhole was clearly preparing to disgorge a ship, but Jadzia was right, something was off. It was taking longer than usual, and radiation readings were high enough that if this continued for an hour or so, Doctor Bashir would have to be out distributing anti-rad pills on the promenade. 

“Ensign Soo,” Ben said, “get ready to hail whatever is coming through that wormhole.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, and bent over her console. Ben watched the viewscreen, waiting for the wormhole to spit out its passenger. He did not have to wait long.

A tiny craft no bigger than a runabout came shooting out of the wormhole, leaving behind it a multicolored trail of dust. It didn’t show any sign of slowing as it shot past Deep Space 9. Its hull was in tatters, it looked like it had had a rough trip. 

“Ensign Soo, hail them.”

“Hailing, Captain. The ship is not responding.” Ben was still watching the craft out the window. He could see its reverse thrusters kicking in, an orange glow lighting up what he could see of the front of the ship as it finally began to slow down. As he watched, another shred of its hull broke off and flew away, torn by the change in momentum. The ship came to a stop. 

He had not noticed Kira following him and Jadzia out of his office, but he realized now that she was at his shoulder. 

“Captain, should we send out a runabout? They’re out of transporter range. And besides, we don’t know that they’re not here to pick a fight. I’d rather not bring them onto the station until they answer our hail, but we can’t leave them out there, they’re too damaged.” Kira looked thoughtful.

“Good thinking, Major. I want you, Chief O’Brien, and Doctor Bashir on a runabout immediately. Whoever is manning that craft may need medical assistance, and I want an assessment of the damage.”

“Yes, Captain.” Kira nodded and strode off.

“Dax, scan that ship. See if there are any life signs.” As he watched the ship, a crack in the hull seemed to appear and widen, until with a soundless explosion it began venting some kind of plasma.

“Yes, Captain.” Jadzia squinted at her display. “One life sign. Definitely humanoid…” Her eyes went wide. “Wait, Benjamin, it’s actually Human. Human from Earth.” Ben bent to look at the screen beside her. Sure enough, it showed one Human lifesign.

“What kind of craft is that for a Human?” Ben wondered aloud.

“I don’t know, but look at this.” Jadzia was pointing to another section of her readout. “There’s some kind of molecular anomaly. The atoms of that whole ship are misaligned somehow.”

“Is it stable?” Ben was suddenly alert. “Should we recall the runabout in case of an explosion?” 

“It looks stable enough, but it’s strange. I don’t know what could cause this kind of effect. If I didn’t know better I would say that this ship had been through some kind of warping of the laws of physics.”

“Keep scanning. I want to know everything you can find out.” Ben looked up again at the viewscreen, just in time to see more plasma blossom into space from another crack. He could see the runabout - Kira had taken _Ganges_ \- flying out to meet the ship, not too fast so as not to appear threatening.

“Captain, they’re answering my hail,” called Ensign Soo.

“Onscreen,” said Ben, and the view of the strange ship and _Ganges_ disappeared, replaced with a human face. A very familiar human face.

Ben felt his mouth work. He looked away from the screen. He glanced at Jadzia, and saw that she was looking between him and the screen in open-mouthed shock.

The woman on the screen, when he looked back at her, fared no better. Her eyes were wide, and one hand covered her mouth.

Eventually she spoke.

“Ben?”

Somehow, when she found words, he found his too.

“Jennifer?”

-

Ben waited outside sickbay for 34 minutes, sitting on the floor with his knees drawn up, while Julian treated her bruises, bumps, and broken bones, and inoculated her against the heavy dose of radiation she had received.

“You had better keep away from any solar coronas or unstable wormholes from now on,” he heard Julian tell her, “you’ve received nearly a _lifetime safe dose_ of mu radiation. Another ten minutes in that shuttle could have been fatal.”

He couldn’t hear her response. Her demure voice was much softer than Julian’s constant, over-loud admonishing-confiding chatter. But Julian laughed.

When she left sickbay, she looked far better. her clothes were still tattered, her face was still peppered with slightly radioactive soot, but she was smiling. She was smiling.

Her smile froze when she saw him. It did not leave her face, but it stilled, struck dead by their eye contact. He stood, and her eyes followed him.

“Hello, Ben.” Her voice was quiet, steady, as though she were nervous, but unwilling to show it.

“Jennifer,” he said, feeling his voice nearly crack, and wondering why it hadn’t, “how are you here?”

“I could say the same to you,” Jennifer answered, punctuating it with a nervous little giggle. She looked away.

Slowly, he extended a hand to her. For a moment she flinched back, staring at it as though he were going to strike her. But then, just as slowly, she took it. 

They shook hands, in a far more formal way than man and wife ever should. But it was a beginning.

“Why don’t I show you to your quarters?”

“That… that would be lovely.” Again the momentary flash of nervousness, but it passed. She looked up at him to meet his eyes, and this time it was he who had to look away.

-

It had taken all his strength to leave her alone in her quarters. She had assured him she knew how to use the replicator, and shooed him out, but after the door had closed, he had stood there for another ten minutes, just staring at it. 

Before she had shut him out, though, he had managed to ask her to dinner. She’d said she would love it.

“My name is Jennifer Sisko,” she said, “but you are not the man whose name I took, and I am not the woman you knew by that name.”

“I understand that.” Ben linked his hands behind him. 

They stood in the living section of Ben’s quarters. She held a drink, a virgin Ektarian fizz. It bubbled audibly when she gestured.

Ben had made shrimp creole. He’d plated it moments before she had walked in, just according to plan, but instead of eating immediately, she had ordered herself a drink, and they had stood here. He was glad that he’d planned their dinner to be slow, and hadn’t put the chocolate lava cakes in the oven before she arrived.

“I’m glad.” She looked down into her drink.

“I’m having your shuttle fixed as quickly as I can,” Ben said. Jennifer seemed to need reassurance of some kind, and this was all he could think of.

“Thank you.” She was still looking down, but her shoulders relaxed.

“I have someone I would like you to meet.” Ben turned, and called through the door of Jake’s room. “Jake-o! You can come out now.”

The door to Jake’s room whooshed open.

Ben had tried to prepare him. Just as Starfleet training had tried to prepare him long ago. He could hear Professor Brewer’s voice now: _“There are many phenomena out there in the galaxy that will show you an image or a duplicate of someone you love. Some are hostile and attempting to manipulate you. Some are simply strange accidents. Some are benevolent but misguided attempts to please you. None are truly your loved ones. This can be hard to accept, especially when the loved ones being imitated are outside of your reach by natural means. But it is true, and it will remain true no matter how much you wish it otherwise.”_

Ben had tried to be gentler with Jake.

_“Jake-o, this woman is Jennifer Sisko, but she isn’t your mother. You have to understand that. She probably has a version of you, but he isn’t you. You have to respect that. Ending up here has been very difficult for her.”_

Jake had nodded very solemnly. Ben knew that Jake was strong. But he was still only seventeen. And Ben knew that he missed his mom, more than anything.

Jake stepped into the main room. Jennifer looked over at him.

“Ben, who is this?” she asked, but then raised a hand to her mouth in shock as Jake bounded toward her.

“Mom!”

Ben watched them embrace. Jake was enthusiastic. Jennifer, less so. She didn’t hug him back, at first. She seemed frozen. But Ben saw her slowly relax, and take Jake in her arms. He had to turn away.

“Ben…” Jennifer’s voice was choked. He snuck a glance out of the corner of his eye, and saw that her eyes were sparkling. “We have a son?”

-

Nothing alerted Kasidy, when she was docking _Xhosa_ , that anything was amiss. No internal sense went off, but Lieutenant Dax also had not seen fit to give her some kind of warning when she had answered her request to dock. Dax was Benjamin Sisko’s woman, all the way. 

The first inkling she had of something wrong was Ben, alone, waiting on the dock, looking like someone had died.

“Kasidy,” he stepped forward to greet her before both her feet were through the airlock. Her first mate was just behind her, but she turned and gave him a look that told him that he needed to delay disembarkation until she had had whatever conversation she and Ben needed to have. 

She noticed that he did not kiss her. He put an arm around her shoulder, and began to lead her away, without kissing her first. She was immediately nervous. Had Ben discovered her Maquis connections? Was that why he looked so grave? Was he leading her away to be arrested?

But he did not lead her away to be arrested. Instead he led her to a turbolift, but stopped it between floors.

“Kasidy, I need to tell you something.” Ben was clearly uncomfortable. He wouldn’t look at her. Kasidy was relieved, and with her relief came annoyance that Ben had scared her.

“Spit it out, Ben.”

“My wife. My former wife. The mother of my son.” A chill went down Kasidy’s spine. Her annoyance evaporated. The mention of Mrs. Jennifer Sisko was an uncommon and sacred thing, to Ben. Whatever this was, it was important. She kept silent, and waited for him to finish his thought. He took a deep breath. “The Jennifer Sisko of another universe has come here. To DS9. She’s here now.”

“Excuse me?” Kasidy was confused. This wasn’t something Ben would ever joke about, so she must have misunderstood.

“Kasidy, you know there are multiple universes. Multiple possible worlds.” Ben was looking at her now.

“I do.” She had never had a run-in with another universe herself, but they were common enough among freelance merchants, particularly those who were slightly unorthodox in their trade routes because they were slightly extralegal in their dealings. She had known plenty of them in her time.

“One of those possible worlds… Is a world where many things are different. Where Jake was never born. Where I am dead. And where Jennifer is alive.”

Kasidy nodded.

“And you… brought her here.” It came out a statement, not a question.

“No! I would never do something like that. To you, or… or to her. Or Jake. She came here by accident. All of us - you, Jake and I, her - we are all trapped in a web of coincidence. But she is here. And we all have to live with it.”

“Oh.” Kasidy heard the quiet of her own voice. If she were in Ben’s position, she would take it as an accusation.

“I love you, Kasidy.” Ben put a hand to her face, but still he did not kiss her.

“I love you, too.”

-

Kasidy had thrown herself into unloading _Xhosa_ ’s cargo for most of the day. They had managed to get everything out faster than they ever had when docked at DS9, and nearly as fast as they had when docked at Terok Nor.

But now it was done. She wished she’d been coming from Tellar. Then she would have had more cargo to unload, and less time to think. But she was coming from Bre’el IV, and very few of her wares were meant for Bajor.

And all she had to do was dread the coming of evening, when she would go to Ben’s quarters and eat one of his home cooked meals seated across the table from the woman whose death had made Ben a widower, but now somehow was not dead.

It had been her own idea. She knew she was going to have to meet Jennifer sooner or later. She wanted it over with. But that did not mean she was looking forward to it.

Ben had told her that there was nothing _romantic_ between him and Jennifer. That what was between them was just memories, and nostalgia, and Jake. And she believed him, absolutely she believed him. But that didn’t make her feel any better about it. 

She had spent the last year entering into not just a relationship, but the empty space in a family. Now the original occupant of that space had reappeared and taken her place. It wasn’t exactly a comfortable position.

And Ben hadn’t kissed her.

-

Jennifer Sisko was beautiful. That was the first thing Kasidy had noticed. She was beautiful, in a stately way. Kasidy could very easily imagine her as a captain, or as an admiral, or as the queen of a vast kingdom. She gave off an air of intelligent, understated authority.

Kasidy cringed.

They sat across the table from each other. Ben was to Jennifer’s left, and Kasidy’s right. Jake was to Kasidy’s left and Jennifer’s right.

Ben was stiff and stony. Kasidy could see that his shoulders were so tense that if a Nausicaan had hit him on the upper back at full force, it wouldn’t even have winded him. Her heart went out to him, because even though it was somewhat Ben’s fault that they were in this situation, it was probably hardest of all for him. Loving someone widowed always means accepting that that person will love more than just yourself. The only difference is that most widowers’ wives did not come back from the grave in so dramatic a fashion.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Miss Yates,” said Jennifer. Kasidy did not want to cause a rift so early by correcting her.

“Likewise, Mrs….” and too late, Kasidy realized the trap Jennifer had set for her. “Mrs. Sisko,” she finished, after a pause. Jennifer smiled brightly at her. Jake was tucking into his salad, and Ben was looking between Jennifer and Kasidy. It was going to be a long meal.

-

Five days later, Kasidy was not invited back to Sisko quarters, but Jennifer was. Just as she had been each night since that uncomfortable dinner. Kasidy knew this because she had hidden herself down the corridor, and watched Jennifer enter. 

But that night, once she had certified that Jennifer was safely inside, she had speedwalked - not run, people get suspicious when you run, but Deep Space 9 is a bustling commercial hub, and no one looks askance at someone who clearly has somewhere to be, even at 1800 hours - to the quarters she had quietly followed Jennifer back to the previous night.

Kasidy has gone to Odo. She had told him _“This woman is playing tricks.”_ She has told him about Jennifer's stranger behavior during the dinner party. He had dismissed her. _“Are you sure what you’re seeing is not simply the specter of a romantic rival, Captain Yates?”_ He had laughed at her. She would do her own investigation.

In the palm of her hand were three miniature security cameras which she had pulled from _Xhosa_ . She could have replicated them, but that would have shown up in the replicator logs, and if Jennifer found them, Kasidy would fall under suspicion. Fortunately _Xhosa_ , being a trading ship, had a lot of little cameras in its cargo hold. As an added bonus, these were on the same frequency as _Xhosa_ ’s other cameras, and already connected to _Xhosa_ ’s database. No sensor readings would show anything amiss unless they were sensitive enough to catch a discrepancy of five hundred meters or so, which wouldn’t happen unless someone was specifically looking.

Kasidy took a deep breath in the corridor outside of Jennifer’s rooms. Then she began to recite Ben’s override code.

She had overheard it months ago, when Ben had needed to open the door of a room which had accidentally remained keyed to someone who had left the station, and Odo was busy keeping an eye on some suspected smugglers. _Sisko-4-1-6-7-Alpha-3._ She hadn’t intended to memorize it at the time, she had just absentmindedly repeated it to herself a few times, to a little singsong tune, and it had stuck on the inside of her skull.

She repeated it now. This was the moment of truth. _Was the code keyed to Ben’s voice?_ If it was, security could show up in minutes, and Kasidy might end up explaining herself to Ben from one of Odo’s holding cells. She dug a thumbnail into the side of her forefinger as she spoke.

Jennifer’s door swished open. The computer had accepted the code. Kasidy walked inside.

Jennifer’s quarters were barren, clearly temporary. That put Kasidy at ease. Her bed was unmade. Kasidy remembered that Ben’s real wife had not been a Starfleet officer, and supposed this alternate wasn’t either. 

She flipped the tiny switch above one camera that turned on its magnetism. Above the door would be a perfect place. She picked up a chair from Jennifer’s table, careful not to drag it so it wouldn’t leave marks, and stood on it so that she could reach. The top of the doorframe was dusty, and she sneezed. But the camera stuck with no problem.

From below, it was hidden by the doorframe. The camera would catch almost the whole room in its view. Kasidy was pleased with herself.

She looked down at the two remaining cameras in her palm. Each additional camera meant an increased field of view, but also an increased risk of discovery. She stood a moment, undecided.

Kasidy went to Jennifer’s bathroom. She was thankful that Cardassians were so nocturnal that even at their brightest setting, the lights on DS9 were dim by human standards. She climbed onto the sink, and pressed a tiny camera to the ceiling just above it, where it would be hidden by the lack of light.

When she jumped down from the sink, she noticed dirty marks from the soles of her shoes on the white ceramic. She turned on the water and scrubbed at them until they went away.

She decided not to place the third camera. The two rooms in these quarters were covered, a third camera was too risky. Whatever this woman was up to, these two cameras should cover it.

As the doors hissed shut behind her, her knees began to shake with the nerves she had been suppressing until just that moment.

-

That first night, Kasidy didn’t even bother to look at the camera feed. Just knowing that Jennifer was observed - if only by unseeing mechanical eyes - was enough. But the next night, she made her way to the port where _Xhosa_ was docked, and let herself onto the ship.

There was no one else aboard - every member of her crew had their own reserved quarters aboard DS9, since they took a good part of their shore leave there. So she felt secure that no one would walk onto the bridge and find her watching a live feed of Jennifer Sisko’s sleep.

“Computer,” Kasidy said, “show me camera eighty six.” The viewscreen came to life. On it was Jennifer’s quarters - and Jennifer herself. She was sitting at her table, reading a PADD. the picture of innocence. Occasionally she scratched her scalp, or readjusted her shirt, but otherwise she did nothing.

After an hour of this, Kasidy found herself restless, fidgeting. Each time Jennifer shifted, she found herself mirroring the movement. The stillness was getting to her. So she stood from the captain’s chair and stretched, turning a pirouette in place and reaching down to touch her toes. When she stood back up, Jennifer was standing as well, and Kasidy watched as she, too, stretched. And then began to take off her shirt.

Kasidy looked away, blushing, waiting for her to be done changing. When she looked back, Jennifer wore a knee-length negligee and fluffy, striped plush socks. The socks disconcerted Kasidy somehow, as though the idea that Jennifer might experience cold threw something about the world out of joint. 

As she climbed into her bed, Jennifer said _“Computer, turn off the lights,”_ and _Xhosa_ ’s computer followed suit, blacking out the bridge just as much as Jennifer’s quarters.

“Computer, turn on the lights,” said Kasidy, annoyed that Jennifer had, in one more small way, reached into her life.

-

It became a routine. Each night, somewhere around 2100 hours, Kasidy would make her way to the bridge of _Xhosa_ and watch. Sometimes, to break up the monotony, she listened to music, or read, but most of the time she simply watched. She watched as Jennifer ordered cups of tea from her replicator, as Jennifer took off her makeup, as gobs of white toothpaste foam dripped from Jennifer’s mouth into her sink.

Kasidy began to fall asleep in the chair. The monotony would lull her, and often she and Jennifer would fall asleep together. When Jennifer would switch off the lights in both her quarters and, unknowingly, _Xhosa_ ’s bridge, Kasidy would simply leave them off, and fall into a doze. She began to get used to it.

Then one night, she was awoken from half-sleep by a gasp. It sounded like Jennifer might be in pain. Kasidy’s eyes snapped open. 

She stood, unsure what she was planning to do, but hoping she could do something, until the gasp came again, along with a whine, and Kasidy realized what must be happening. She could just barely make out Jennifer’s body moving under the covers.

Kasidy averted her eyes, and tried to cover her ears. But she could not completely block out the sound of Jennifer crying out _“Benjamin!”_ as she climaxed.

Kasidy, too, drew in a sharp gasp. It was good to be reminded why, exactly, she was keeping an eye on this woman in the first place. 

-

The next night, Jennifer broke her pattern. At 2241 hours, still in her daytime clothes, Kasidy watched her exit her quarters. For more than an hour, Kasidy stared at an empty room. When Kasidy woke up at 0403, Jennifer was in her bed with the lights off.

Where had she been?

-

 _“Ben, can I see you?”_ Kasidy’s voice crackled through his commbadge. They hadn’t spoken in a few days. That was something Ben regretted, but he was busy. He had a Federation diplomatic trip to Bajor’s minor cities to facilitate. And in the evenings… 

“Of course, Kasidy.”

_“Now?”_

“That would be wonderful.” Ben looked around at his quarters. Jake was out on the promenade with Jennifer. They wouldn’t be back for a few hours. Now _was_ the perfect time.

When Kasidy walked in, she seemed unaccountably nervous. When she hugged him, he could feel her tremble a little; unusual on DS9 since the lowest temperature setting on a Cardassian station was still a little warmer than the usual human baseline.

Still, she held him as tight as she could, and it was… nice. To see her.

She looked up at him, and for a moment she looked so sad. But then she smiled.

“Don’t you have a kiss for me?” Her mouth quirked, almost cheeky.

“Of course,” he said, pushing aside the strange guilt he felt. As they kissed, he wasn’t sure whom he was betraying - Jennifer, Kasidy, or himself. 

Kasidy paced. He had never seen her so agitated. He turned away to avoid the discomfort of watching her, and straightened the stack of PADDs on his table.

“You know, I miss you,” she said, from behind him. It could have been passive aggressive, but it wasn’t. He could sense her sincerity.

“I’ve been here the entire time.” It was technically true, but a lie nonetheless, and he winced at himself.

“You _know_ what I mean.” She came up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders, a slight playful lilt in her voice.

“I do.” Ben felt himself beginning to relax. He turned to face her, and it seemed her anxiety had dissipated too. He kissed her again, this time with more honesty, and a far less bitter aftertaste.

-

It was with the taste of Kasidy still on his lips that Ben welcomed Jake and Jennifer back into his quarters. Was this what it felt like to have an affair? He knew that Jennifer was not his wife, nor was she Jake’s mother, he knew that Jennifer had no expectation that he leave Kasidy or keep away from her, and most importantly he knew that Kasidy was in a far worse predicament than he was, being forced into the position of the Other Woman by someone who had been dead when they’d met. But it still gave him pause. 

He could talk to Dax about it, but, well, she wouldn’t understand. She was too ready to believe in the agreed text of a relationship, without caring very much about the web of expectations and subtext which lay underneath it.

He watched Jennifer and Jake from across the room. He had not been paying attention to the topic of their conversation, but Jake laughed suddenly, his wide open giggle which could fill a room with sunshine. Jennifer laughed with him

Ben was glad that she would have to leave, eventually, because in his heart of hearts, he knew that if it meant Jake laughing with his mother like this for the rest of their lives, he would leave Kasidy in an instant. Even though he loved her.

-

Kasidy watched Jennifer laughing with Jake, and Ben watching them in the background, and somehow it was worse than her fears.

She had gone to see Ben, and now she _saw_ him, clear as day through her third little security camera, larger than life on the bridge of _Xhosa_. She had stuck it to the wall as he was rearranging PADDs. 

On the screen, the Sisko family laughed and talked, the picture of happiness, and Kasidy felt her stomach turn. She watched as Jennifer took Ben’s hand while they listened to Jake talk about one of his stories. It went no further, but that quiet intimacy terrified her. This must be where Jennifer went at night. 

Kasidy was glad Ben’s quarters had separate bedrooms. She had no desire to watch Ben and Jennifer make love, but she did not think she would be able to turn away.

-

Jennifer did not leave her quarters that night, nor the next night. In the meantime Kasidy watched each Sisko family dinner for improprieties, but found none save the occasional touch of hands.

On the third night, Jennifer finally took a trip out. Kasidy switched anxiously to her feed of the Sisko family room, but saw nothing except for Ben, gently snoring on the couch, apparently having fallen asleep while reading. Funny, she had never taken him as one for gothic, but people were full of surprises.

Still, for two hours, she watched, and Jennifer did not appear, there was no beep of the bell. When she swapped back to Jennifer’s quarters, she was already in bed. She hadn't gone to Ben’s, at least that night. So where was she going?

-

It took Kasidy four days to get up the courage to actually follow Jennifer. The first night, she stood in the corridor near Jennifer's room from 2200 to 0100, but Jennifer did not leave. But the next night, Kasidy heard the telltale swish of doors, and footsteps padding in the other direction. Kasidy peeked out, and saw Jennifer's slender back retreating down the corridor. Kasidy followed her, pleased that she had thought to slip out of her shoes before Jennifer exited her quarters so that her tread was even more silent than Jennifer's.

Jennifer made her way through the corridors like someone who knew the station inside out. A couple of times, she almost lost Kasidy with a sharp turning. The route she took led to more and more mazes of dimly lit corridors, increasingly far from the promenade and the excuse of the crowd. By the time Jennifer stopped, she and Kasidy could have been the only people on the station.

Kasidy hid herself in an intersection of the corridor, and watched Jennifer as she… accessed a computer terminal. 

Jennifer attached some kind of tiny black disk to the terminal, and the screen began to flash images faster than Kasidy could comprehend them. Jennifer looked down at her PADD. The tiny device seemed to be making some kind of information transfer. 

That was all.

For forty five minutes, Jennifer stood there, downloading information onto her PADD. That was it.

-

Over the next weeks, Jennifer began to take her trips not once every few days, but nightly. Kasidy gave up her security camera duties entirely and started following her instead. 

Her crew began commenting on how obviously sleep deprived she was when she socialized with them during the day. She stopped socializing with them.

Each night, Jennifer would go to one of a few out of the way computer terminals and play around with them for a few minutes, before downloading a massive data dump. Sometimes it took hours. Always, Kasidy watched. Sometimes she could make out what was on the screen. Once it was ship schematics. Another time, interstellar trade routes. But mostly it was thousands and thousands of spreadsheets and documents which Kasidy could not identify from ten meters away.

-

“You know, Ben, he wasn't a kind man.” Jennifer's voice was soft. They were sitting together on the couch, knee pressed against knee, looking at holos from Jake’s childhood. Idyllic images of Jake digging in hologram riverbeds, and Jake playing in the very real kitchen of Ben’s father's restaurant, and Jake held in his father's arms. Jennifer has been behind the camera in all these shots. “The man I knew who shared your name and your face, I mean. The man I married.”

This Jennifer was not often so forthcoming. Ben nodded, so as not to break the spell with sound.

“That's why I don't have a son. I left him, twenty years ago now. He's been in and out of my life since then, but I haven't wanted him there. I loved him, once, but it was a mistake. I don't think the other me made a mistake, did she?” Jennifer was looking up at him. He was looking down at her. The moment was frozen in time.

Ben didn't even realize their lips had touched until he felt himself push Jennifer away. They had both moved into the kiss, and just as quickly jumped apart when they realized what was happening. Jennifer looked at him, wild eyed, and he knew he must look the same.

“I think that was a mistake just now,” he said.

“Yes,” she breathed, and stared at him while the computer continued flipping through holos behind her.

-

That night, nothing was different about Jennifer’s trek to the computer terminal. Kasidy did not watch her on the cameras at all, she didn’t even turn them on, she just waited outside her room for her to walk out.

Kasidy followed her to one of the usual terminals. For half an hour she watched Jennifer stand there, with her PADD, downloading. 

And then she heard footsteps.

They came down the corridor. Click, click, click. The sharp, regular sound of Starfleet boots.

Jennifer whirled to see the newcomer. He just entered Kasidy’s field of vision. Yellow uniform shoulders. Dark hair. Tall. Lanky.

“What are you doing, Doctor Sisko?”

A look of panic on Jennifer’s face as he saw the black disk and began to try to pry it off the terminal. A look of concern and realization on his face as he looked back up at her and began to back away.

A metallic flash. 

A dagger in Jennifer’s hand, already tipped in red. 

A gush of the same color from the Starfleet boy’s neck. 

A look of panic, now frozen on his face for eternity as his body slid down the wall behind him.

Kasidy, frozen in terror, watching all of it.

It took every ounce of willpower she had to keep from breathing so loud Jennifer might hear it. Jennifer was covered in blood. Her face dripped with it. She looked down at the newly minted corpse and appeared to catch her breath for a moment, before she produced a tiny device out of… somewhere. It looked like a scanner, a wide beam forming a paper thin triangle in the air, and making blood evaporate wherever it touched.

And Kasidy watched as Jennifer slowly, very slowly and methodically, hacked the corpse to pieces, and fed it into that small beam.

First, she cut off the head. Her knife must have been incredibly sharp, as it made short work of a human neck in only two strokes. Then she set the head upright on its bloody stump, and cut into it from above. Its face faced Kasidy’s hiding spot, and watched her as she watched. Jennifer split the skull in half, symmetrically, with a twist of her knife. As though she were cracking open a butternut squash. The two halves of the head fell awkwardly, bursting apart from the force Jennifer had used to split them asunder. Chunks of gray matter spilled onto the floor. An eyeball popped from its socket and bounced. 

Jennifer picked up one half of the skull, and scraped out its contents with her knife. She bashed it against the ground, seemingly trying to smash it and failing. Then she appeared to have a realization. She turned, and pulled the dead man’s phaser from his belt. She brought the butt of the phaser down on the empty half skull, and it splintered.

She did the same to the other half, and swept the scanner-thing over her pile of offal. It vanished, vaporized. It seemed one of the bone fragments was too big, and she had to break it again before vaporizing it. She didn’t notice the eyeball that had bounced away.

She stood, surveyed the corpse again, then knelt, and straddled its thighs. She brought her knife down in a two handed stroke, right on its breastbone. Then she wrenched the handle like a lever. Kasidy heard a _crack._ Jennifer made a cut across the abdomen. Kasidy watched as she slowly, and with great effort, pried open the rib cage. The corpse lay open like a box, and Jennifer slashed her knife through its innards in long lines, before running her not-scanner over it. 

Kasidy was beginning to understand. Whatever the thing was, it needed bite sized pieces. Maybe some kind of safety feature. She felt her stomach turn, and covered her mouth to keep from retching. _Safety feature._

She watched as Jennifer began to cut the ribcage apart. She snapped each rib in two between her hands, with ragged chunks of flesh still attached, before putting them in a little pile. Halfway through this task, she ran the not-scanner over her own left hand, and Kasidy saw the blood and viscera residue disappear. As though it had never been there.

She sat there and watched as every part of the hapless Starfleet boy except his uniform disappeared into that blue-white beam. Individual vertebrae broken from the spine, one by one. Legs cut into shank steaks, and then cubed as if for stew. Each finger cut off and left in a small pile, and Jennifer separated the bones of the hand.

At long last, when Jennifer stood there holding nothing but tattered shreds of cloth, a phaser, and a commbadge, bloodless and clean, she began to walk away. But after five steps she turned back. She pulled the not scanner back out, and vaporized the stray eyeball. Then she walked away, with all that remained of a human being under her arm.

-

“Crewmate St. James from engineering hasn’t reported for duty,” said Kira, looking down at the PADD in her hand. “Ensign Watson reported him, he’s three hours late. Watson sent one of his friends to check his rooms, but they can’t find him. Computer can’t locate his commbadge either.”

“That’s odd,” said Ben, trying not to be distracted by monstrous regrets.

“I can’t find him on any outgoing ships’ manifestos. Maybe the shuttle to Bajor? They don’t keep a list of Starfleet or Bajoran military personnel, since they’re considered part of staff.”

“Yes. Put out a search alert on Bajor. I want that crewman _found._ ” Concern for his crew began to pull him back to the real world. “Better yet, you tell Odo. I’m going to inform the Bajoran constabulary.”

-

Crewman Emile St. James was posted missing after six hours. His family were informed after twelve. Ben spoke to a tearful mother and father, who begged him to bring their boy home safe, and swore up and down that he would never run off like that. 

It wasn’t until three days later that his commbadge was found at a Bajoran waste processing plant, where it had been carried on the garbage shuttle from Deep Space 9. Crewman St. James’s outlook was suddenly a lot more grim. 

-

Kasidy did not leave her quarters for six days and eight hours. She was too terrified. Every time she approached the door, a vision of Jennifer standing outside with her knife appeared to her. Her knife, and her little corpse-eating not-scanner.

Kasidy could not stop thinking about disappearing into that thing. Piece by piece, until there was nothing left.

No one missed her. She had pushed away her crew, and Ben, well. Ben was busy. She took her meals from the replicator, and paced, and read the small pile of books Ben had given her and she had left in her quarters on the station, against the time when she might have more free time on the station than she knew what to do with. And she certainly had that.

But after six days and eight hours she could no longer stand it. 

She went to Odo. 

-

Odo was reading a PADD when she walked into his office. She knew she looked distraught. She hadn’t bothered to fix up her hair before leaving her quarters. Her clothes were rumpled. And she was wild-eyed, checking every nook and cranny as she walked.

“What seems to be the problem, Captain Yates?” Odo looked at her coolly.

“Jennifer Si-” she could not say it, and tried again. “Jennifer Sisko, Constable. I saw her kill someone.”

Odo looked skeptical.

“And _when_ did you see this, exactly?”

“Last week.”

“About the time that crewman St. James went missing, would you say?” There was a slightly mocking tone in Odo’s voice.

“That was his name?” She asked, momentarily distracted from her mission by the fact that the man whose murder she had witnessed had had a name.

“Yes, it’s been the talk of the station. All the details are _common knowledge._ ”

“Including that Jennifer killed him?”

“Including that he _disappeared,_ and that foul play is suspected, Captain Yates.” Odo looked back down at his PADD. “Still, if you think I ought to _call the Captain here_ , and tell him that you suspect that Doctor Sisko, whose name you can’t even bring yourself to say, is the culprit of the station’s rumor topic du jour, and that you didn’t _think_ to come tell me until a week later, I’ll happily-”

She turned and fled from Odo’s office before he could finish the sentence. 

-

Kasidy needed proof. 

If Odo - Ben - _anyone -_ was going to believe her, she needed proof. And there was only one way to get it. 

So at 2000 hours, she found herself hiding outside Jennifer’s quarters, again. Again, she heard the familiar whoosh. Again, she stole after Jennifer in her socked feet. 

This time, Jennifer led her deep into the bowels of DS9, far below the habitat ring. The lights flickered here, and there was an access tube of unknown height or depth just open in the wall. She wondered if it would echo if she shouted into it.

Jennifer stuck her little disk to the terminal, and began downloading. Kasidy pulled out the little security camera she had hooked to her PADD, and began fiddling with the buttons, trying to turn it on. And then she heard a footstep.

Jennifer was staring right at her.

Before Kasidy could rise from her crouch, Jennifer lunged. She caught the front of Kasidy’s collar in her fist and lifted her to her feet. Kasidy hit at her arm, and it was futile, but realized that if she kneed Jennifer in the stomach… 

Jennifer dropped Kasidy’s collar, clutching her gut, but Kasidy stumbled, and Jennifer had time to catch her breath before Kasidy righted herself. Kasidy turned to run, but it was too late, and Jennifer hit her a devastating blow on the head with something hard and heavy. As Kasidy stumbled and turned, woozy, she saw that it was the back of Jennifer’s knife.

Jennifer pushed her backwards, and she collapsed against the wall that was suddenly behind her. Jennifer’s arm pinned her there, keeping her from sinking to the floor. Jennifer’s face was inches from her own.

The tip of Jennifer’s knife pressed gently into her neck.

“Why?” Jennifer hissed, clearly wanting to scream the question, but conscious of sound. 

“What?” Kasidy was baffled. Confusion even superseded terror, for a moment.

“Why did you have to follow me? Why couldn’t it have been someone else?”

“I don’t-”

“I had a feeling I was being watched. It stopped, over the past week. You saw me kill that man, didn’t you?”

All Kasidy could do in response was squeak, but she knew her eyes held Jennifer’s answer.

“Why did it have to be you? Why couldn’t it have been someone else?” Jennifer was extraordinarily angry. Kasidy could see that now. But she was not angry at Kasidy.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Kasidy said, as her head began to clear.

“He cares for you. Ben does, I mean. I can’t let you go, but Ben cares for you. I don’t want to break his heart again.”

“Why would you care about breaking Ben’s heart?” Kasidy spat.

“Because he’s the father of my son! Because he’s a better man than the man I married, perhaps the best man I can imagine. Because it would break mine.” Jennifer’s anger shattered, and Kasidy saw tears gather at the corner of her eyes. “I thought… I thought when we destroyed this world… I could take him with me.”

“Ben would never-”

“Maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he would. Our universes are colliding. One will triumph. It’s going to be war. I want to save my world. But I want my son, too.”

“He’s as much my son as yours,” Kasidy said, narrowing her eyes and bracing herself. “I’m a part of Ben’s family.”

“I know,” said Jennifer. “That’s why I regret what I have to do.”

Before Jennifer could do anything at all, Kasidy threw herself sideways, twisting and wriggling her shoulders. She landed on the floor and leapt up with the power of adrenaline, but before she could start running, Jennifer hit her across the face with a closed fist, knocking her backward. Then she felt a blow to her stomach. Jennifer had kicked her.

Jennifer had kicked her, and now she was falling. 

Falling backwards into the access tube. 

Rotating in slow motion.

She saw the rungs rushing past her, and wondered what it might be like to grab one at this speed. She didn’t have time to try it.

The world shattered.

The last thing Kasidy heard before everything faded was Jennifer’s voice. It turned out the tube _was_ echoey. Or maybe that was just Kasidy’s consciousness slipping away.

_“He’s never going to forgive me for this.”_

-

“You know,” said Jennifer over breakfast, “I think I really should be leaving soon. I have a universe to get back to.”

“Your shuttle is almost ready,” Ben replied. “It might even be ready later today.” He kept his tone light, and he could tell she was doing the same. 

He did not want her to leave. She did not want to go. She had to go. He had to let her.

Now that her shuttle was fixed, there was nothing keeping her on Deep Space 9. Their time together would end soon.

She took his hand.

“I love you, Ben.” Her eyes were liquid as they stared up at him.

“I love you too.” He hated himself for saying it, even though it was true.

And then she left, and Ben started piling up their dishes.

-

 _“Odo to Sisko.”_ Ben’s commbadge crackled to life. 

“Sisko here.”

_“We need you in sickbay. It’s Kasidy.”_

-

“Rom found her. He was working in Lower Pylon 2 and saw her at the bottom of an access tube,” said Odo, as Ben stared at the curtains surrounding the surgical chamber. “Doctor Bashir says that he can save her life. But he doesn’t know if she’ll ever wake up.”

“But... what was she doing in Lower Pylon 2,” Ben asked, inane with horror, unable to extricate his mind from the banalities of the situation. Unable to contemplate Kasidy, lying in a hospital bed, and never waking up.

“That’s what I would like to know. Yesterday, she accused Doctor Sisko of killing Crewman St. James. At the time, I thought she was jealous. She’s accused Doctor Sisko of frivolous things before. But now…” 

“Constable, why are you only telling me this now?” Ben rounded on Odo. 

“Calm down. I thought it might discomfort you.” Odo was on the defensive.

“Of course it discomforts me. Odo, I want you to search this whole station for J- for Doctor Sisko.” 

“Yes, Captain. And another thing. There was a computer terminal near the tube where Kasidy was found. It had been used to access databases on Federation military capacity. It turns out that there have been dozens of requests from DS9, over the past few weeks, for military information. None of which we have any record of. I believe I know _why_ Doctor Sisko might have been motivated to push Captain Yates down a shaft.”

-

Ben was running. He wasn’t sure where to, his feet were carrying him more than his head. But he needed to get to Jennifer. 

Odo’s office. Ben knew where the phasers were kept there. He knew, far better than Odo’s search parties, where she would be. He grabbed a hand phaser, and set off towards the airlock where Jennifer’s shuttle was docked.

When he got there, it was too late. The scene was gory. Two engineers, with their throats neatly sliced. And Jennifer, telling the computer to open the airlock.

“Stop!” He was surprised that his voice didn’t waver. He pointed the phaser at her. She turned.

“Be careful,” she said. “Those Cardassian hand phasers don’t have a stun setting.” Blood dripped from her cheek where a gush of it had splattered.

“Why are you doing this?” Ben felt his hand shaking. He was only the curl of a finger away from watching Jennifer evaporate.

“Our universes know of each other. That means there’s going to be war.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. And if one side has to win, I want it to be mine.” Her shirt was soaked, red turning to brown as it dried.

“How could you-”

“I’m sorry. About Kasidy, I mean. I really am. I never wanted to hurt you.” Jennifer looked away. “If it’s any consolation,” her voice broke, “it was real. Everything I felt for you. You, and Jake, and the life you offered me. You could come with me.”

“You know-”

“I know you can’t.” She cut him off. “But I wish you could.”

Ben lowered his weapon. He couldn’t watch her die. Not again. 

Not even if it meant war with another universe. 

Jennifer backed away, into the open airlock.


End file.
